One tenant recently discovered their landlord was refusing to separate recyclables simply because they were too cheap to buy a separate bin, and the tenant took to the r/LandlordLove subreddit to voice their frustrations.
"My landlord throws recycling in the garbage, he can't be the only one," the tenant wrote. "If you're wondering why, it's because our landlord stuffed his basement illegally with two families and refuses to pay for the additional annual waste collection (aka an extra bin). I'd love to report him, but there's nowhere cheaper and we live around the worst cities to rent/buy in the country."
Frustratingly, despite the best efforts of many individuals to ensure that their recyclables are properly sorted into the correct bins, a shockingly high percentage of recyclable materials in the United States still end up sitting in landfills.
Despite around 75% of municipal solid waste being recyclable, according to data shared by NBC Think, the Environmental Protection Agency reports the U.S. recycling rate is only around 34%.
Also, according to a report conducted by environmental groups Beyond Plastics and The Last Beach Cleanup and reported on by Smithsonian Magazine, 85% of plastic waste ended up in landfills in 2021, with only 5-6% getting recycled.
The tenant is also likely right to fear retaliation if they report their landlord. Tenant harassment is a serious issue, and many vindictive landlords have been known to go to extreme measures when they feel that their authority is questioned or that tenants are "causing problems," including retaliatory eviction attempts.
The subreddit's other members had plenty of choice words for the landlord and advice for the tenant.
"Report the address anonymously to the waste management company, (say you're a neighbor). They will alert the trash worker to keep an eye on the address. Then they'll either send the account holder a letter or slap him with a fine for every occurrence," wrote one commenter.
"You'll move eventually, report him then. Until then, you can save your recycling and go put it somewhere else where it'll get sent through the proper channels," wrote another. "And please find ways to anonymously make the landlord's life miserable for me."
"Will do, I'm making [a] log book of his idiocy," the original poster replied.
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